Public relations officer: Employers and vacancy sources

Public relations (PR) practitioners work across a wide range of industries and may work in any of the following settings: corporate; financial; consumer; public affairs; local government; business-to-business (B2B); trade and technical; internal communications; not-for-profit organisations and charities.

Vacancies for PR officers exist in-house and in consultancies:

• an in-house department works exclusively for one company or organisation, which may be public, commercial or not-for-profit. An in-house PR professional will need to acquire specialist knowledge of the particular area they are working in and will design and implement a PR programme specifically to meet the organisation's requirements;
• PR consultancies provide an independent service to several client organisations, often working within very different market sectors. Consultancies vary in size, from large international firms with offices throughout the world to small locally based firms who may specialise in a specific area such as fashion, music, healthcare or finance. Larger consultancies are likely to have a wider client base, ranging from law firms to builders' merchants.

In some cases, in-house PR professionals may work in tandem with PR consultancies on certain projects.

Sources of vacancies

• Search graduate jobs on this site.
• Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR)  
• Brand Republic  
• Campaign  
• The Drum  
• PR Week  
• Press Gazette  
• Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA)  
• Guardian Jobs  
• Independent Jobs  
• The Scotsman Jobs  

Vacancies for in-house PR posts are often advertised in the national, regional or local press, as well as the industry press listed above. Consultancy vacancies can also be advertised.

There are specialist PR recruitment agencies, but they invariably deal only with vacancies for experienced practitioners. Search the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC)  for recruitment agencies that deal with PR.

Recruitment can be very ad-hoc, with some graduates obtaining their first post as a result of a speculative approach. The Hollis UK Public Relations Annual may be useful in identifying contacts for speculative applications.

Get tips on job hunting, CVs and cover letters and interviews.